BILL NUMBER: AB 471	CHAPTERED  09/15/99

	CHAPTER   381
	FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE   SEPTEMBER 15, 1999
	APPROVED BY GOVERNOR   SEPTEMBER 15, 1999
	PASSED THE ASSEMBLY   AUGUST 30, 1999
	PASSED THE SENATE   AUGUST 26, 1999
	AMENDED IN SENATE   AUGUST 17, 1999
	AMENDED IN SENATE   JULY 6, 1999
	AMENDED IN SENATE   JUNE 3, 1999
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY   APRIL 15, 1999
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY   APRIL 5, 1999

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Scott and Senator O'Connell
   (Coauthors:  Assembly Members Cunneen, Honda, Keeley, Mazzoni,
Soto, and Wildman)
   (Coauthor:  Senator Solis)

                        FEBRUARY 18, 1999

   An act to add Sections 44225.6 and 44225.7 to the Education Code,
relating to teacher credentialing.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 471, Scott.  Teacher credentialing.
   Existing law requires the governing board of a school district to
employ for positions requiring certification qualifications only
persons who possess the qualifications for those positions.  Existing
law authorizes the Commission on Teacher Credentialing to waive
provisions governing the preparation or licensing of educators for
certain purposes, including to provide a credential candidate
additional time to complete a credential requirement, to allow a
school district or school to implement an education reform or
restructuring plan, and when deemed appropriate by the commission.
Existing law authorizes the commission to issue or renew emergency
teaching or specialist permits if certain conditions are met and
requires the holder of an emergency permit, among other things, to
participate in ongoing training, coursework, or seminars designed to
prepare the individual to become a fully credentialed teacher or
other educator in the subject area in which he or she is assigned to
teach or serve.
   This bill would require the commission to report annually to the
Legislature and the Governor on the number of classroom teachers who
received credentials, internships, and emergency permits in the
previous fiscal year and to make this report available to school
districts and county offices of education to assist them in the
recruitment of credentialed teachers.  The bill would also require
the commission to include in the report the total number of teacher
credentials recommended by all accredited teacher preparation
programs authorized by the commission and that number broken down by
the type of institution making the recommendation.
   This bill would authorize the commission to approve a school
district request for the assignment of an individual pursuant to the
commission's waiver and emergency permit authority if the district
has made reasonable efforts to recruit a fully prepared teacher, as
defined, for the assignment with first priority given to candidates
who will complete initial preparation requirements within a matter of
months and second priority to a candidate who is enrolled in an
approved internship program in the region of the school district.  If
a suitable individual who meets either of those 2 priorities is not
available to the school district, the bill would then authorize a
school district, as a last resort, to request approval for the
assignment of a person who does not meet that criteria.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:


  SECTION 1.  (a) The Legislature finds and declares as follows:
   (1) The most important education variable in pupil achievement is
a fully prepared classroom teacher.
   (2) Research clearly demonstrates that low-achieving pupils
perform at levels equal to their peers when they are placed in
classrooms with teachers who have completed state-approved
preparation programs.
   (b) The Legislature intends to do all of the following:
   (1) Build upon systematic efforts over the past several years to
strengthen teacher recruitment and retention, to the end that every
pupil in a California public school classroom is taught by a fully
prepared teacher.
   (2) Maintain and expand, through the annual Budget Act process and
as appropriate, existing state programs designed to expand the pool
of prospective teachers, strengthen the pipeline into teaching, and
remove unnecessary barriers to teaching careers.  Those existing
programs include the Paraprofessional Teacher Training Program, the
Alternative Certification Program, the California Center for Teaching
Careers, the Assumption Program of Loans for Educators, the Cal T
Grant Program for teacher candidates, and the California Mathematics
Initiative.
   (3) Continue to expand the capacity of public institutions of
higher education to enroll additional teacher candidates in approved
teacher preparation programs, until these efforts result in enough
fully prepared teachers to meet the needs of all California schools
and classrooms.
  SEC. 2.  Section 44225.6 is added to the Education Code, to read:
   44225.6.  (a) By January 10 of each year, the commission shall
report to the Legislature and the Governor on the number of classroom
teachers who received credentials, internships, and emergency
permits in the previous fiscal year.  This report shall include the
following information:
   (1) The number of individuals recommended for credentials by
institutions of higher education.
   (2) The number of individuals recommended by school districts
operating district internship programs.
   (3) The number of individuals receiving an initial credential
based on a program completed outside of California.
   (4) The number of individuals serving in the following capacities
by subject matter, county, and school district:
   (A) University internship.
   (B) District internship.
   (C) Pre-Internship.
   (D) Emergency permit.
   (E) Credential waiver.
   (5) The specific subjects and teaching areas in which there are a
sufficient number of new holders of credentials to fill the positions
currently held by individuals with emergency permits.
   (b) The commission shall make this report available to school
districts and county offices of education to assist them in the
recruitment of credentialed teachers.
   (c) A common measure of whether teacher preparation programs are
meeting the challenge of preparing increasing numbers of new teachers
is the number of teaching credentials awarded.  The number of
teaching credentials recommended by these programs and awarded by the
commission are indicators of the productivity of teacher preparation
programs.  The commission shall include in the report prepared for
the Legislature and Governor pursuant to subdivision (a) the total
number of teacher credentials recommended by all accredited teacher
preparation programs authorized by the commission and the number
recommended by each of the following:
   (1) The University of California system.
   (2) The California State University system.
   (3) Independent colleges and universities that offer teacher
preparation programs approved by the commission.
   (4) Other institutions that offer teacher preparation programs
approved by the commission.
  SEC. 3.  Section 44225.7 is added to the Education Code, to read:
   44225.7.  (a) The commission may approve a school district request
for the assignment of an individual pursuant to subdivision (m) of
Section 44225 or Section 44300 if the district has certified by  an
annual resolution of the governing board that it has made reasonable
efforts to recruit a fully prepared teacher for the assignment.  If a
suitable fully prepared teacher is not available to the school
district, the district shall make reasonable efforts to recruit an
individual for the assignment, in the following order:
   (1) A candidate who is scheduled to complete initial preparation
requirements within six months.
   (2) A candidate who is qualified to participate in an approved
internship program in the region of the school district.
   (b) If a suitable individual who meets the priorities listed in
subdivision (a) is not available to the school district, the district
may, as a last resort, request approval for the assignment of a
person who does not meet that criteria.
   (c) As the supply of teaching interns increases as a result of
legislative efforts to expand the Alternative Certification Program,
the commission shall notify school districts that state policy
directs the assignment of interns to classrooms when available in a
given region, with decreased reliance on persons serving on emergency
permits or credential waivers.
   (d) As the supply of fully prepared teachers increases as a result
of the Legislature's efforts to recruit and retain qualified
teachers for California classrooms, the commission shall notify
school districts that state policy directs the assignment of fully
prepared teachers to California classrooms, with the use of permits
or waivers only when school districts are geographically isolated
from teacher preparation programs or in the case of unanticipated,
short-term need for the assignment of personnel.
   (e) As used in this section, a "fully prepared teacher" means an
individual who has completed a teacher preparation program.  For
purposes of this subdivision, a "teacher preparation program" means
either a set of courses, including supervised field experience, or an
equivalent alternative program, that provides a curriculum of
systematic preparation for serving as an educator in California
public schools.
